


You Don't Need To Love Me

by MiraculousLadydork



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, One Shot, Song fic, Two Shot, i just don't want to post it as two separate works, it's not that great but the song came up on shuffle and i thought of them so, possibly a reveal fic if i continue it but i don't know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-28
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-29 19:21:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6389893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiraculousLadydork/pseuds/MiraculousLadydork
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>PART ONE; Chat finds a piano and Ladybug overhears him playing a song that breaks her heart.<br/>---<br/>PART TWO; Ladybug answers with a song of her own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You Don't Need To Love Me

**Author's Note:**

> The song is You Don't Need To Love Me from a musical called If/Then. I know this isn't fantastically written, but the song came up on shuffle and I couldn't stop myself, and really, the song speaks for itself.
> 
> Song; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WOSIercmJI
> 
> I might write a second chapter, but I don't know. It could go either way, really.

There was a piano.

They'd been chasing an akuma, Chat Noir and Ladybug, when he had somehow managed to get separated. Although he'd known Ladybug wouldn't be behind that door (it was much too quiet), he'd had to open it anyway. And there it stood, solid and proud, a beautiful creation; even under it's cover he knew.

There was nobody around, but he still looked around himself to check. He crept quietly across the room, as if making a noise would somehow disrupt the peacefulness and serenity that the covered grand piano seemed to emanate. He couldn't help himself, as he moved quietly across the room and reached hesitantly towards the cover. His hand outstretched, inches from the fabric, he paused. 

Should he...? 

He looked up at the large windows that decorated the wall behind the piano stool. Ladybug was out there somewhere, and with a guilty lurch he realised she probably needed him. But, then again...

His gaze dropped back down to the piano.

Ladybug could cope without him for a few minutes, couldn't she? She'd proved time and time again that she could, often single handedly taking on akumas when he was possessed or otherwise unable to come to her aid. Besides, it wasn't every day he got free time to play such a beautifully crafted instrument however he wanted. It was always classical practise, as nothing else was considered 'appropriate'.

With a derisive snort, Chat Noir yanked the cover off and let it fall to the floor. The black lid gleamed in the sunlight that was readily pouring in from the windows. He resisted the temptation to prop it open, and instead moved around and lifted the fallboard. 88 keys glittered underneath, and he smiled, lowering himself onto the stool and letting his fingers dance across the keys. 

His eyes slipped closed with a sigh, allowing himself to be taken by the music, forgetting completely about the half-open door.

~*~

“Chat?” Ladybug called, as she backtracked around where she'd last seen him. Maybe he'd taken a short cut through the building? Yes, she'd try that.

The akuma had gone down quickly; it had been one of their less difficult ones and she'd managed fairly easily on her own, but it still worried her that Chat had never shown up. 

She paused as she turned a corner and noticed an open door about halfway down. The heavenly noise of a well played piano was coming softly down the hall towards her, and she couldn't stop herself from walking forwards and peering inside. She recoiled in shock when she realised it was Chat playing and went to call out to him, but then he began to sing. 

“ _You don't need to love me,_ ” He began, and Ladybug suddenly found herself unable to do anything other than to duck out of the gap and listen.

“ _Or tell me that you do._  
Don't make me any promises,  
Just promise we're not through.

 _Don't give me one damn thing,_  
I won't let you call this greed.  
Just let me give to you,  
That's the only thing I need.  
I know that this can work if you plant one simple seed, you'd see it grow.  
You don't need to love me, to know.”

His voice was beautiful, more beautiful than Ladybug would ever have imagined, and she felt stunned, rooted to the spot. The song... it was so heart-wrenching, she felt like she was intruding upon something private by listening but she couldn't stop herself. Could he be singing about... her?

“ _You don't need to need me,_  
It's better that you don't.  
If each of us can walk away,  
It won't matter that I won't.

 _We'll both be self contained_  
But together, not alone.  
You can keep me in the dark,  
Hell, it's all I've ever known.  
But we both could use a friend who will always check the phone,  
And take the call.  
You don't need to need me at all.”

Ladybug pressed her hands to her mouth. Did he... did he really feel that way?

“ _Let me be your emergency contact,_  
Your occasional plus one.  
Your excuse to take a sick day when the forecast calls for sun.

 _We can keep on being lonely,_  
But we don't have to be apart.  
And I'll never even ask you to let me have your heart.  
So I'll never break your heart.  
No I'll never break your heart!”

There was a lapse, and Ladybug realised with surprise that tears were gently pouring over the edge of her mask and over her hands, still clasped around her mouth.

“ _You don't need to love me,_ ” It was more like a sigh than singing.

“ _To let me help you through._  
You don't need to confide in me,  
I've got crap enough for two.  
You don't need to answer,  
I'll know before you do.” He sounded so defeated...

“ _But hear me. And believe me._  
That you don't need to love me.  
The way that I love you...”

The song ended with soft finality, and in the moment of silence that followed Ladybug felt like somebody had grabbed her heart and crushed it tight in their grip. She should go in, she should tell him that she heard him and talk to him about it. She knew that's what she should do, but instead, with the weight of her guilt and feelings, she couldn't stop herself.

Stifling a sob, she turned and ran.


	2. Falling In Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug answers with a song of her own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sorry.
> 
> GO HERE FIRST https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGJTaP6anOU

Marinette had no idea how she was going pull off her plan, but she was determined to at least try. She didn't sing, she designed and made things. So while, yes, she was artistic, she wasn't musically artistic. Nobody had heard her sing in years; she saved it solely for the shower and when she was working – alone! - in her room, so the fact that Chat Noir of all people would be hearing her voice made her insides squirm with nerves and anticipation, and the more she thought about it the more she felt vaguely like she was going to be sick.

“Okay,” She said, sitting in her chair and staring determinedly at her blank computer screen. “Don't think about it.”

“Marinette, I'm sure everything will go fine!” Said Tikki, the voice of reason, as she swam into view, “You've been over this a hundred times and you're sure!”

Marinette sighed wistfully, slumping forwards and catching her face in her hands. “I know,” She said, “But I still can't believe it. Adrien is so perfect, and Chat's so... _not._ ”

“Yes,” Tikki said, gently, “But that's why you like him so much.”

Marinette groaned, covering the rest of her face with her hands, “I know...” She said, again. “I don't even know who he really is...”

“Marinette.” Tikki sounded mildly exasperated, and Marinette looked up at her in surprise. “What have I told you about this before?

“That I am Ladybug,” Marinette repeated, “With or without the suit.”

Tikki looked pleased. “Exactly! And what does that make Chat Noir?”

“The same person, with or without the mask.” Marinette sighed again, “But I'm not Ladybug without the suit, she's far more confident than I am. I can barely stand up to Chloe, or even talk to Adrien.”

“But you can!” Tikki encouraged, “You stood up to Chloe on the first day of the year, and you and Adrien are friends now, right?”

Marinette nodded, a small smile beginning to spread across her face as she considered this. While Chloe was still awful, Tikki was right that she had been able to stand up to her. It might have lead to semi-disastrous results, but she had still done it.

“And maybe,” Tikki added, gently swimming closer to Marinette's cheek, “Chat could be the same as you?”

Marinette stared at her in surprise, “You mean... Chat's real self could be somebody just as shy and awkward as I can be?” That couldn't be right, Marinette couldn't imagine someone as outgoing and outrageous as Chat Noir being shy or quiet, or in anyway restrained or reserved. But Tikki had a point, he could well be. Nobody would imagine that the clumsy and awkward Marinette would be the graceful and confident Ladybug, so why shouldn't it follow that Chat was in the same position?

After a short period of silence, Marinette smiled at Tikki. “Okay,” She told her, “I'm ready.”

Moments later, Ladybug was clambering up onto Marinette's balcony, while down below in Marinette's bedroom her computer's screen faded into the Adrien screensaver.

 

~*~

If she had felt nervous before, it was nothing compared to how she felt now. Her heart was racing, her insides tying themselves into knots, she felt very warm all over, and this time there was no Tikki to calm her down.

“Okay, okay,” She muttered, under her breath as she paced back and forth on the top platform of the Eiffel Tower, “Just stay calm. He'll hear you. You're at the highest point in Paris, his hearing can't miss you. It'll be fine. It'll be fine. You already know how he feels.”

The sun was finally setting, its fading rays turning the sky delicate shades of pink and orange and providing a beautiful backdrop for what Ladybug hoped would be an equally beautiful moment.

She hadn't spoken to Chat properly since 'The Incident', but it had never been far from her mind. Yet it had still hit her like a ton of bricks when she realised that she felt the same way. He was always, always there for her, and she would do anything for him in return. He wasn't perfect, no, but that's what made him so different, so Chat Noir. Once she had admitted it to herself, it felt like a weight had lifted off of her, one she didn't even know she was carrying and yet she could already feel the difference. She felt lighter, somehow, and everything in the world felt more beautiful, an incredible feat of its own given that she lived in Paris, of all places.

“I can't do this, I can't do this!” She squeaked, covering her cheeks with her hands in a panic. “No, I have to, I have to. It makes us even.” And without a second thought she kicked the music player into life.

Her heart was in her mouth, and she was convinced her voice sounded wobbly, but she turned to face Paris and began to sing.

“ _Wise men say, only fools rush in..._ ”

~*~

Chat's ears twitched. He hadn't long transformed, but he could already Ladybug and she seemed to be calling to him. How he knew that, he didn't know, but he would always know when his Lady was calling to him and he would always be there to answer her. Her voice seemed to be coming from the Eiffel Tower, so he quickly set off in that direction.

“ _But I can't help falling in love with you.  
Shall I stay?  
Would it be a sin,  
If I can't help falling in love with you?_”

But as he neared the base of the Eiffel Tower and her voice became clearer, he realised then that she was not calling to him, but singing. And her voice took his breath away. No, she wasn't perfect, but she was so utterly Ladybug that he found himself falling more deeply in love with her the longer he stood and listened to her.

And then her words came to his ears.

“ _Like a river flows,  
Surely to the sea,  
Darling, so it goes,  
Some things are meant to be.  
Take my hand,  
Take my whole life, too.  
For I can't help falling in love with you.._”

He wasn't sure if the tears in his eyes were to do with the fact that she might love somebody else, or that she might love him. But who else would be able to hear her so distinctly from any point in the city? As far as he could tell there was nobody up there with her, and there was definitely nobody down on the ground with him... Well, he had only one way of finding out.

He adjusted his position, and then extended his baton, beginning his slow accent upwards.

“ _Like a river flows,  
Surely to the sea,  
Darling, so it goes,  
Some things are meant to be,_”

He landed softly on the platform in front of her, and suddenly her face lit up in a brilliant smile, her tears shining in her eyes like crystals. She slowly extended one arm towards him, offering her hand.

And he knew.

His own tears of joy spilled over, and he carefully placed his hand in her waiting one.

“ _Take my hand,  
Take my whole life, too.  
For I can't help falling in love with you  
For I can't help falling in love with you_.”

He doesn't hesitate as he pulls on her hand and drags her towards him until they slam together and she winds her arms around him tightly, smiling radiantly through her tears.

He cups her face in his hands and says, thickly, “You heard me.” It's not a question, but a statement. He knows. He _knows_.

She nods, and their noses bump together. “I heard you.”

He nods, too, distractedly, and he can't really help what he says next. “I love you.”

She doesn't falter. “I love you too,” She breathes, and he can feel her breath hot on his lips.

So he closes the distance and kisses her, his hands sliding down as her slide up, pressing into the small of her back and pulling her even closer still. Her hands are in his hair, and he realises he no longer cares about knowing who she really is because _this_ is who she really is. 

The girl he loves, and who loves him in return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I have made it a reveal? I kind of like how it ends...

**Author's Note:**

> Love it? Hate it? Let me know!?


End file.
